born - August 15, 1985 Los Angeles, California, U.S.A

Occupation

• Rapper

• songwriter

• entrepreneur

• activist

Years active - 2005 - 2019

Genres - Hip hop

Labels

• All Money In

• Atlantic

• Cinematic

• Epic

Associated acts

• Bino Rideaux

• Dave East

• Dom Kennedy

• Mustard

• TeeFlii

• YG

• Roddy Ricch

• jstone

Eritrea owns African - American rapper, activist, and entrepreneur.Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid-2000s, Hussle independently released his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success,which led to him being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.

Hussle became known for his numerous mixtapes, including his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series, The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, and Crenshaw, the last of which rapper Jay-Z bought 100 copies for $100 each. After much delay, his debut studio album Victory Lap was released in 2018 to critical acclaim and commercial success,and was nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019. Two posthumous Grammy Awards for the songs "Racks in the Middle" and "Higher" were awarded to Hussle in the Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance categories, respectively, the next year at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

Also known for his entrepreneurship, Hussle inaugurated the Marathon Clothing store, which he founded along with partners Carless, the head of the agency, Karen Civil and his brother Samiel Asghedom in 2017, and started a co-working environment which he named "Vector 90".On March 31, 2019, In December 2005, Hussle independently released his first mixtape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, to moderate local success.His debut project helped to build a small regional fanbase on the west coast, and eventually led to Hussle being signed to Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records.In 2008, Hussle released the first two installments in his Bullets Ain't Got No Name series of mixtapes, which helped to bring Hussle's music to a larger audience.

Nipsey Hussle (left) with fellow rapper Big Sean in 2009

Nipsey's profile continued to grow into 2009, when he collaborated with Drake on the song "Killer",and also appeared, along with Snoop Dogg and Problem,on the song "Upside Down",from Snoop Dogg's 2009 album Malice n Wonderland.He also released the third instalment in Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, as well as his commercial debut single, "Hussle in the House". Despite the song, which samples Kris Kross' 1992 single Jump, being well received by critics, it failed to make any impact on the charts.

After Epic experienced financial issues in 2010, Nipsey opted not to renew his contract and left the label.Not long after going independent, Hussle appeared on the song "We Are the World 25 for Haiti",and was featured by XXL Magazine as one of its "Annual Freshman Top Ten", a selection of ten up-and-coming hip-hop artists to watch.XXL labeled him "Most Determined" of his class, and LA Weekly called him the "next big L.A. MC".Hussle was expected to release his debut album, South Central State of Mind, in October 2010. Prior to release, the album was supported by the single "Feelin' Myself" featuring Lloyd. While the production was set to be handled from J.R. Rotem, Scott Storch, Mr. Lee, Play-N-Skillz, Terrace Martin and 1500 or Nothin', the album was set to be featured with the guest appearances from Trey Songz, Jay Rock and Sean Kingston. Concurrently, he announced that he planned on releasing a mixtape with fellow rapper Jay Rock, titled Red and Blue Make Green.Following the release of a music video for "Feelin' Myself", the album was set for a December 21, 2010, release; however, both of these projects were eventually postponed indefinitely.